Fireplace canopies



l.. QUITTNER 3,297,018

FIREPLACE CANOP IES Jan. l0, l1967 Filed sept. 50, 1965 United States Patent C) 3,297,018 FIREPLACE CANOMES Leonard Quittner, 1711 Lorraine Road,

Reading, Pa. 19604 Filed Sept. Sti, 1965, Ser. No. 491,61() 2 Claims. (Cl. 126-142) This application is a continuation-in-part of application Serial No; `334,7l8, filed December 3l, 1963 now Patent 3,224,429.

This invention relates to canopies for fireplaces.

Heretofore, fireplace ensembles comprising a curtain screen, a fireset, andirons have had the curtain screen thereof constructed in different ways. For example, curtain lirescreens have `been constructed and encased in a rigid framework, freestanding and mountable before the fireplace externally thereof. These known screens are not constructed as knock-down assemblies and may have a very narrow bottom panel or fender fixed to the frame and made a part thereof so that andirons cannot `be used therewith. Other curtain screens are constructed in a rigid frame in which a wide bottom panel or fender is fixed to the frame and made a part thereof and is provided with spaced apeitures or openings for andirons so that these may be used therewith.

Other types of curtain screens are constructed as inside mounted fireplace hanging curtain screens in which the curtain portion, mechanism and decorative cornice or top bar etc. is bolted or welded as a unit permanently to the fireplace or in which a pressure-bar is employed for suspending the curtain portion, mechanism and a fixed permanently integrated decorative cornice or outer top bar which is either constructed to fit inside or outside the fireplace aperture. The pressure-bar is extensible axially and is mounted transversely on the upper part of the lireplace without any support except the pressure exerted by the pressure bar on opposite sidewalls of the fireplace. This type of construction has the screen extending down to the hearth `as far as possible in which case andirons may not be used or inust `be fitted with special adapters permitting their use. This type of screen is sometimes supplied with a loose narrow bottom panel or fender, ornamented or plain, to close the small gap left at the bottom of the curtains and in this case andirons may not be used or must be tted with special adapters permitting their use.

All of the known constructions have various limitations and disadvantages thereto. With wear and long use inside hanging and outside mounted freestanding fireplace curtain screens must be entirely replaced or are not easy to remove or stow when not in use and if a change of ensemble appearance is desired, an entire new screen must be bought. Furthermore, the outside mounted freestanding curtain screens are not completely effective as fire protection devices. Moreover, this type of curtain screen cannot be practically custom-made with mass production techniques. The inside mounted fireplace `hanging curtain screens permanently mounted or mounted by the use of upper transverse pressure bars, on the other hand, have limited use in that they cannot be employed with andirons or require that andirons be fitted with special adaptors of elaborate construction. Moreover, they cannot be used on all types of fireplaces, namely dgld Patented dan.. l0, i957 those fireplaces which have no sides to them. A particular disadvantage of the known inside mounted fireplace hanging curtain screens is that the pressure bar thereof is transversely in the upper part of the fireplace which is usually one of the hottest Zones of the fireplace so that the bar is constantly subjected to thermal cycling and requires a continual but intermittent take-up adjustment. Moreover, the constant thermal cycling causes distortion and bowing of the pressure bar so that eventually a pei'- manent sag is developed in the curtain screen so that it looks unsightly and does not efficiently carry out its fire protection function since a space is left between the sag on the screen and the upper part of the fireplace and eventually the whole screen must be replaced.

According to application Serial No. 334,718 there is provided a new and novel inside mounted fireplace hanging curtain screen arrangement which can be readily massproduced for custom use and which can readily be used in conjunction with andirons. without any adaptation.

The inside mounted fireplace hanging curtain screen of application Serial No. 334,718, now Patent No. 3,224,- 429 is supported on a pair of upstanding, spaced apait, support members adjustable longitudinally for exerting a pressure between the top of the fireplace and the hearth thereof for positively maintaining the upstanding support members in an upstanding position. A transverse meniber which can be constructed as a heat and fire shield is connected as a transverse support member between the spaced apart upstanding support members for supporting a curtain screen for travel thereon. The curtain screen is constructed as a flexible curtain which does not extend to the hearth and is sufficiently spaced from the hearth to allow a plurality of andirons to` be mounted in position without the use of adapters. A bottom fender removably mounted is disposed covering the space between the hearth and the lower edge portion of the curtain. The fender is provided with openings for permitting the use of andirons. The upstanding adjustable, support members are disposed when in use adjacent the inside sidew-alls of the fireplace. Thus they are disposed in substantially the coolest zones of the fireplace and are not subjected to the heat cycling that the known pressure bars are subjected so that the need for constant adjustment is eliminated and the transverse support member is free of sagging so that the effectiveness and life of the screen are greatly improved.

A feature of the present invention, which feature is disclosed in application Serial No. 334,718, is the provision of a type of canopy removably mountable in position relative to a fireplace. In particular, the canopy is removably mounted on the above referred to transverse member or shield and, accordingly, can be removed easily, changed or replaced entirely without affecting the operation of the screen itself.

According to a further feature of the present invention, the canopies provided are not only mountable in combination with the fireplace curtain screen constructions of application Serial No. 334,718 but are also mountable in combination with the above described fireplace curtain screen constructions of the prior art.

In the specification and claims the term canopy is intended to include canopies, hoods, covers, cornices, and

the like. In other words, the term canopy denotes a generally decorative element adapted to be disposed outside the fireplace at or near the top of the fireplace opening and extending transversely along the widthwise dimension of the fireplace opening and outwardly from the fireplace. The canopy, besides being decorative, may be used in fireplace curtain screen constructions wherein the canopy `helps contain the fire and ashes and soot therefrom within the fireplace.

The replace canopies of the present invention comprise a pair of separately formed corners, an intermediate member assembled with said corners and holding said corners in spaced apart fixed relative positions, and au angle bracket extending longitudinally of the canopy, the angle bracket including means for suspension of the canopy therefrom. Preferably, the means for suspension of the canopy therefrom are a plurality of spaced notches defined in the bracket.

In order that the canopy have a unitary appearance, it is preferred that the intermediate member have a cross section corresponding to a cross section of both of the corners.

The canopies of the present invention readily permit of fabrication by mass production techniques. Thus, a standard corner may be fabricated, the standard corner being used for the canopy whatever the canopy length. To permit of this expedient, the intermediate member may be fabricated in a standard length, long enough for the longest canopy normally desired. Then, when it is desired to construct a canopy of a particular length, the intermediate member may be cut down and then assembled with the standard corners. This is highly advantageous because convenient and economical.

The canopies of the present invention have other advantages too. The canopy or a fireplace screen assembly with which the canopy is used may be individually replaced since the canopy is removably mounted. Thus, for example the canopy may readily be replaced if damaged without replacing other parts of the fireplace ensemble, or the canopy may be changed for various decorative effects, such as a brass finished canopy for one season and a black finished canopy for another season.

Other features and advantages of the canopies in accordance with the present invention will be better understood as described in the following specification and appended claims, in conjunction with the following drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a sectional view taken in a plane perpendicular to the length of a canopy of the invention, showing the canopy mounted outside a fireplace in combination with an inside mounted fireplace hanging curtain construction;

FIGS. 2 and 3 are fragmentary views of another canopy construction according to the invention;

FIG. 4 is a front elevation view of another canopy of the invention mounted outside a fireplace in combination with an outside mounted fireplace hanging curtain construction;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary end view ofthe mounted canopy of FIG. 4.

In the drawing, alike reference numerals are used with respect to alike parts in order to correlate the various alternatives possible according to the invention. Canopy is mounted on a support strip 11 (FIGS. 1-3) extending transversely of the fireplace adjacent the top, for example a lintel 13, of the fireplace, or on support members 12 (FIGS. 4 and 5). Support members 12 are the vertical members of the frame of an outside mounted freestanding fireplace curtain screen. With respect to FIG. 1, those portions of the structure shown but not described herein are not essential to the present invention and description of those presently undescribed portions of structure may be found in application Serial No. 334,718 in the description of FIG. 3 thereof.

Transverse member 11 can function as a heat and fire shield. Although this member can be made of narrow Width, to simply support the pull chain 14 and support rods 15 for the screen, the transverse member is preferably a metal strip member having a width, for example, in the order of two inches of function as a heat and fire shield. This strip is provided with a pluality, for example, two threaded holes through Which extend threaded screws 16 which are locked by nuts 18. In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, Where there is no transverse member 11, screw 16 extends through a hole in support member 12.

Brackets 17 have notches or slots 27 along an underside edge 19 thereof for receiving the spaced threaded screws 16. Canopy 10 is secured to this hanger with finished rivets 20 (FIGS. 1 to 3) or with finished threaded studs 21 and mounting collars 22 which space brackets 17 from the walls of canopy 10, brackets 17 being locked between collars 22 and nuts 23 (FIGS. 4 and 5). This spacing permits back edge 24 of support member 12 to be in vertical alignment with back edge 25 of the canopy which gives the entire structure a pleasing, unitary appearance.

Mounting and demounting of the canopy is readily accomplished by positioning the canopy so that slots 27 receive screws 16 for mounting and then lifting the canopy so that slots 27 are disengaged from screws 16. A collar 26 is provided to keep the head of screw 16 spaced from support strip 11 or support member 12, to permit ready mounting and demounting of the canopy without having to adjust the screws 16.

The corners of the canopy are constructed as a lefthand corner 28 and a right-hand corner 29. It can be seen that these corners can be manufactured by massproduction techniques and are assemblable with the cenltier section 30 as hereinafter described.

The individual corners have a raised deformation 31, 32, respectively, defining a recess of sufficient depth so that when the member 30 is mounted thereon the outermost edges of the intermediate member 30 abut against an underside edge 32 of the deformation (FIG. 2). The raised deformations appear substantially like a pair of decorative straps when the intermediate member is secured to the corners with decorative or finished rivets 20 (which also hold bracket 17 in place, as do additional like rivets 20').

The canopy can likewise be constructed by having deformation defining as shown in FIG. 3 in which a corner 33 is provided with a recess 34 so that an outermost edge 35 of the intermediate member 30 abuts against a depression edge 36 so that the canopy is made to appear like a continuous formed member. It being understood that the preferred embodiment of this configuration of canopy is illustrated in FIG. 2. Those skilled in the art will readily recognize that constructing the top cornice as a multi-part assembly in the manner illustrated provides a construction permitting mass-production of the corners and the stock from which individual member 3f) are made in any length and then cut to any desired length for custom built screens according to the invention.

The ease of mounting the various type of canopies provides for replacement of the canopy to provide substantially a new look to the screen arrangement without need of buying the other component parts as is generally the case, for example, in the known screens.

While preferred embodiments of the invention have been shown and described, it will be understood that many modifications and changes can be made within the true spirit and scope of the invention.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In combination, a fireplace canopy and a fireplace screen, said fireplace canopy comprising a pair of separately formed corners, an intermediate member assembled with said corners and holding said corners in spaced apart xed relative positions, and a bracket extending longitudinally of said canopy, said bracket having an upright leg and a transverse leg intgral with said upright leg,

said canopy being suspended from said transverse leg, 5

said fireplace screen including a frame, said frame including support means for disengageably engaging said bracket, and said upright leg of said bracket including means for disengageable engagement with said support means, whereby said replace canopy is demountably mounted on said frame of said fireplace screen.

2. A combination according to claim 1, wherein said means for disengageable engagement comprises a slot in said upright leg.

References Cited bythe Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 346,267 7/1886 Clayton.

509,948 12/1893 Richardson 126-201 X 1,233,884 7/1917 Kraemer et al 160-21 X 2,565,588 8/1951 Bruno 160-39 2,958,378 11/1960 Rubens 160-19 OTHER REFERENCES Shop Manual: Life-Long Aluminum Awnings, published by Aluminum Awning Co., pages 11 and 12, received September 12, 1949.

FREDERlC-K KETTERER, Primary Examiner. 

1. IN COMBINATION, A FIREPLACE CANOPY AND A FIREPLACE SCREEN, SAID FIREPLACE CANOPY COMPRISING A PAIR OF SEPARATELY FORMED CORNERS, AN INTERMEDIATE MEMBER ASSEMBLED WITH SAID CORNERS AND HOLDING SAID CORNERS IN SPACED APART FIXED RELATIVE POSITIONS, AND A BRACKET EXTENDING LONGITUDINALLY OF SAID CANOPY, SAID BRACKET HAVING AN UPRIGHT LEG AND A TRANSVERSE LEG INTGRAL WITH SAID UPRIGHT LEG, SAID CANOPY BEING SUSPENDED FROM SAID TRANSVERSE LEG, SAID FIREPLACE SCREEN INCLUDING A FRAME, SAID FRAME INCLUDING SUPPORT MEANS FOR DISENGAGEABLY ENGAGING SAID BRACKET, AND SAID UPRIGHT LEG OF SAID BRACKET INCLUDING MEANS FOR DISENGAGEABLE ENGAGEMENT WITH SAID SUPPORT MEANS, WHEREBY SAID FIREPLACE CANOPY IS DEMOUNTABLY MOUNTED ON SAID FRAME OF SAID FIREPLACE SCREEN. 